[Aug. 2] In the past 10 days, two of the best young Republicans in Congress have announced they won’t seek reelection in 2020. Rather than retire from politics, though, Martha Roby of Alabama and Will Hurd of Texas should accept another challenge: Run as a ticket to wrest their party’s presidential nomination from Donald Trump.
Seriously.
Trump’s overall approval rating is permanently underwater, and he trails Joe Biden badly in head-to-head polls. He’s volatile enough that he could implode at any time. Somebody needs to be there to pick up the Republican pieces if he does — and, either way, to make the argument to Republican primary voters that Republicans can do better, in behavior, policy, and winnability, than they are doing with Donald J. Trump.
Roby and Hurd, although they certainly aren’t household names, would be more than capable of making that case. Moreover, they could help Republicans avoid looming political disaster by expanding the party’s appeal to younger Americans who are on the cusp of becoming the nation’s largest voting cohort.
So, who are Roby and Hurd? As described here last week, Roby is an engaging, personable, thoughtful public servant, one especially attuned to the needs of the military and veterans and, as a former city council member in Montgomery, Ala., also attuned to urban needs.
Hurd, meanwhile, is tremendously impressive. . He was a student body president at Texas A&M who earned good national reviews for leadership when the school’s famous annual bonfire collapsed, killing a dozen students. He served nine distinguished years in the CIA, including in Central Asian war zones, and he is an expert on cybersecurity. Known for an indefatigable work ethic and a willingness to engage people in even the smallest and least Republican of communities, Hurd three times has won election in an overwhelmingly Hispanic district that leans Democratic on the presidential level….[The full column is here.]
